The IDNR Division of Fisheries allocates between 25 percent and 50 percent of its annual Sport Fish Restoration Act funds to fisheries research, which has included telemetry studies on largemouth bass and smallmouth bass (shown here) to assess habitat use and effects of angling tournaments on local populations. Photo provided by the INHS Lake Michigan Biological Station.
How the Sport Fish Restoration Act Works in Illinois
Over the past 75 years, Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) has received $241 million in federal Sport Fish Restoration Act (SFRA) funds, or roughly 2 percent of the total funds available to all participating states and territories. Illinois has provided roughly $80 million in matching funds derived from license revenues and research university matching dollars making a total project expenditure of over $320 million for fisheries restoration and management activities and boating access projects. In recent years, Illinois has had from 581,000 to 701,000 certified license holders and received annual SFRA apportionments ranging from $7.2 to $8.1 million.
A white crappie from an INHS survey evaluating use of artificial habitats (Shelbyville cubes) by sport fish in Lake Shelbyville. Photo provided by Joseph Parkos.
While a tremendous benefit for Illinois fisheries, SFRA revenues today make up about one third of the Division of Fisheries annual budget. Remaining expenses are met by other federal grants (e.g., USEPA Great Lakes Restoration Initiative) and fisheries specific stamps and non-general revenue funds (e.g., Inland Trout and Lake Michigan Salmon stamps and the Illinois Fish Management Fund). The Division of Fisheries currently receives no general revenue (state tax dollars) to fund operations.
Illinois DNR obtains SFRA funds annually through internal operations grants and external research grants awarded by IDNR to researchers from the Illinois State University system. All grants are reviewed and approved by the USFWS. Grant funds reimburse IDNR expenses and are deposited in the Illinois Treasury’s Wildlife and Fish Fund, along with fishing and hunting license dollars and certain fines and state land-based income sources. Because the Division of Fisheries does not have an in-house research branch, it uses state university researchers from the University of Illinois’ Prairie Research Institute/Illinois Natural History Survey and other research universities (e.g., Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and Eastern Illinois University) to meet its research needs.
Val Thompson and Dan Roth weighing and measuring a flathead catfish collected during the Sport Fish Restoration Act funded study of catfish on the Wabash River. Photo courtesy Daniel Roth.
Research grants go through a rigorous process where priority research questions are generated either by IDNR fishery biologists and administrators, or a collaboration of research scientists and IDNR staff. Project proposals are then individually reviewed by the Fisheries Management Committee (FMC; made up of front-line biologists) and then the Fisheries Administrative Review Committee (FARC) before being recommended for funding. Ultimate funding decisions are made by the Division of Fisheries Chief.
What has the Sport Fish Restoration Act Done for Illinois Sport Fisheries?
The SFRA directly supports IDNR Division of Fisheries operations (three grants), Illinois boating access projects and Division-approved fisheries research (seven grants each having multiple studies).
A smallmouth bass sampled by INHS during a long term large river electrofishing project (LTEF) project funded by the Sport Fish Restoration Act. Photo courtesy of Jason DeBoer.
Inland Waters Management – The rivers, reservoirs and inland waters fisheries management grant supports fish population sampling in the State’s more than 1,200 public lakes and impoundments, three Army Corps of Engineers’ reservoirs, three large navigational waterways (Illinois, Mississippi and Ohio) and 43,000 miles of smaller rivers and streams. Sampling provides data for sport fish population status updates and informs harvest regulation, fish stocking and habitat improvement decisions. This grant also covers fish sampling for consumption advisories, fish kill investigations, aquatic vegetation control, habitat improvements (e.g., fish attractors and aquatic vegetation planting), environmental assessments and permit reviews, management planning, fish stocking coordination, harvest regulation development, and professional guidance to other agencies, municipalities and private landowners.
Fish Production and Stocking – Fish stocking is one of just a few effective management tools available to fisheries biologists working to create, rehabilitate or maintain popular sport populations and fisheries. The fish production and stocking grant provides essential funding so that IDNR’s four fish hatcheries—Jake Wolf, Little Grassy, LaSalle and Otter Slough—can consistently and efficiently produce and stock a variety of sport fish species. In 2024, Illinois hatcheries raised and stocked over 20 million sport fish representing 22 species, helping biologists provide diverse, quality fishing opportunities across the state.
Lake Michigan Management – The Lake Michigan grant supports five fish stock assessment surveys evaluating relative abundance, stocking success, fish homing, and natural recruitment of important sport and prey fish populations in Illinois’ Lake Michigan waters. The grant funds a contracted offshore assessment vessel and captain employed to help IDNR biologists conduct gill net surveys targeting forage fishes (e.g., alewife, bloater and rainbow smelt) and predator species (e.g., yellow perch, lake trout and burbot). Also supported are nearshore electrofishing surveys to assess Chinook and coho salmon, rainbow trout, brown trout, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and rock bass populations, and beach seining surveys to assess reproduction of yellow perch, smallmouth bass and largemouth bass. Data from these surveys inform local harvest regulation and stocking decisions and are shared with other Lake Michigan fisheries agencies in support of interjurisdictional fisheries management.
Boating Access Projects – IDNR records indicate that over $36 million in SFRA funds have been spent to provide fishing and boating access in Illinois. Types of projects have changed, and numbers and dollars spent have increased over the years, especially after passage of the Wallop-Breaux amendment. Lake and access road construction on state-owned and managed lands was big in the 1950s through mid-1970s, whereas dredging, boat ramp construction and lake shoreline improvement projects predominated in the late 1970s through 1990s. More recent projects tend to focus on access road, parking lot, boat ramp and dock new construction, renovations and ADA compatibility. A recent high-profile project partially funded through SFRA via IDNR’s Boating Infrastructure Grant Program (BIG) is a newly constructed 100 percent transient boat marina on the north side of Navy Pier in Chicago. It’s the only public transient marina along Illinois’ 63 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline.
Fisheries Research – The Division of Fisheries allocates between 25 percent and 50 percent of its annual SFRA funds to fisheries research. Funded research projects are highly varied and are always applied to specific fisheries management problems and information needs of IDNR field biologists and administrators. Some past projects that have guided fisheries management decisions and policy include: stocking evaluations of northern vs. southern strain largemouth bass; walleye and channel catfish stocking size evaluations; muskie strain evaluations; developing remote sensing (acoustics) sampling protocols for Lake Michigan; offshore reef lake trout habitat investigations; effects of bluegill bag and size limits on population abundance and size structure; development of standardized sampling gears and methodologies for inland waters; long term, large river monitoring of fish populations; population dynamics of gar and bowfin, popular bow fishing species; inland lake, large river and Lake Michigan angler creel surveys; fish tagging and movement studies; impacts of catch-weigh-release tournaments on largemouth bass; development and maintenance of fisheries communication tools (e.g., IFishIllinois and social media presence) and a single Fisheries portal database for fish stocking and sampling data management. Some currently funded research projects include:
Assessment of Illinois fishing license data to improve angler retention, recruitment and reactivation;
Large river fish stock assessment;
Rock River shovelnose sturgeon population dynamics;
Assessment of crappie and bluegill harvest regulations in impoundments;
Evaluation of artificial and natural (rocky and woody) habitat structure effects on fish communities;
Fish movement following the Wolf Lake-Powderhorn Lake reconnection;
Wabash River catfish studies and Vermilion and Kaskaskia river smallmouth bass studies;
Evaluation of new technologies to improve creel survey techniques;
Lake Michigan nearshore fish and yellow perch assessments;
Use of acoustic telemetry to assess movements and habitat use by Lake Michigan smallmouth bass; and
Field and laboratory studies to improve paddlefish management.
Since creation of the Sport Fish Restoration Act (SFRA), more than $36 million has been spent in Illinois provide fishing and boating access. A recent high-profile project partially funded through SFRA is a transient boat marina on the north side of Navy Pier in Chicago. It’s the only public transient marina along Illinois’ 63 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline Photos courtesy Navy Pier.
The SFRA is up for reauthorization in 2026, something that happens every 5 years. While the act continues to have bipartisan Congressional support, it never hurts to spread the word about what this important legislation means to you, the Illinois angler and boater, so that our great American sport fishing and boating legacy remains viable for future generations to enjoy.
Paddlefish held at Jake Wolf Memorial Fish Hatchery that will be used in laboratory studies by UIUC researchers to improve paddlefish management. Photo courtesy Sandra Leal.
Michael McClelland, Chief of the IDNR Division of Fisheries, summarized by saying “the cooperation and commitment of our Illinois anglers, fishing industry contributors and federal partners provide the resources vital to creating and enhancing quality fishing and fishing programs in Illinois waters. All of us at the IDNR Division of Fisheries thank you for your support!”
To learn more about the SFRA, check out Part 1 of the story here.
Vic Santucci is IDNR’s Lake Michigan Program Manager in the Division of Fisheries. He also wears other hats for the Division, including acting Region 2 administrator and Sport Fish Restoration research and field operations grant manager.
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